Electric fixture



Oct. 25, 1938. F, J ms 2,134,402

I ELECTRIC FIXTURE y Original Filed Sept. 3, 1951 .FRANC s J. HINES,

I "ATTORNEY Patented Oct. 25, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,134,402ELECTRIC FIXTURE Francis J. Hines, New York, N. Y., assignor to HinesElectrical Specialties, Inc., a corporation oi New York 1936, Serial No.72,023

' 3 Claims.

My invention relates particularly to devices intended to be used inoutlet wall boxes or receptacles for supporting electric fixtures. Thisapplication is a division from my application Serial Number 560,965filed September 3, 1931, on which Patent 2,060,990 issued November 17,1936.

One object is to provide means to facilitate the installation of wiresin such devices.

Another object is to provide means for permitting the connection of aplurality of conductors to the same terminals without soldering or theprovision of additional-connecting devices.

A further object is to provide means for supporting a wall bracket in anovel and improved manner.

In carrying out the invention I provide an insulating support and astrap for mounting the support in an outlet box and in turn supporting abracket or other device. 'The body of the insulating support carries twobus bars, one on each side, each bus bar-being provided with a main lineterminal and a branch terminal. Each of these terminals carries aclamping plate held by a single screw and each clamping plate ispositioned so as to prevent its rotation.

Fig. 1 is a front View showing one form of construction embodying myinvention.

Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view on the plane of the line 2-2 ofFig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing the bus bar with one of theclamping plates and its screw detached.

Fig. 4 is a front view of the insulating cover plate.

Fig. 5 is an edge view of the supporting strap together with a fixturetube.

Fig. 6 is a transverse sectional view of another modification.

The supporting strap 1 is provided with an interiorly threaded portion 8for the connection of a fixture arm or bracket, conduit, nipple, orother device 9. This strap may have slotted ears by means of which itmay be secured in an ordinary outlet box (not shown).

The insulating body of the fixture is preferably formed of two parts,the main part In formed, for instance, of molded insulation and a top orcover part I I which may be formed of sheet insulation or fibre. The twobody parts are adapted to be secured together in any suitable manner,for instance, by one or more rivets l2. Rivets I3 secure the strap tothe insulating portions.

In the sides of the body are mounted bus bars l4, 15 having endspositioned in the same plane and held in the slots IS in the bodyportion beneath the insulating cover.

The binding or clamping screws 20,21 are intended to be screwed into theopposite ends of the'bus bars and into a recess or pocket 22 at eachside of the insulating body. Clamp plates 23, 24' may be provided foreach bus bar to enlarge the gripping area and facilitate attachment of anumber of wires.

The cover part or plate II is cut back at l I I to permit moreconvenient access'to a clamping plate for the attachment of a fixturewire, While another clamping plate is protected and positioned by theflange I I2 of the cover plate so that the ends of the line Wires whichcome in from the rear will be covered and guarded. An additional screw25 may be provided if desired for grounding the strap as is customary indevices of this kind.

The insulating cover has an aperture 26 and the insulating body has acentral recess 21 which permits adjustment of the nipple or fixture tube9 into or through the body so as not to limit the length of the nipplewhich canbe used.

The insulating body may be provided with projecting flanges 28 to guardthe ends of the wires which are clamped to the busbars.

Each bus bar has ribs 28 which serve to coact with grooved portions 29of the clamp plates so as to assist in positioning the clamp plates andin preventing them from rotating. Additional means of securing the wiresmay be provided as shown in Fig. 3 where studs 30 are struck outwardlyfrom the bus bar and adapted to project through perforations such as 3|in the clamp plate. Each stud interlocks with a perforation and preventsthe clamp plate from rotating, and it also provides a convenient meansfor winding or hooking an end of the conductor which is to be 7 clampedbetween the clamp plate and the adjacent end of the bus bar.

In the form shown in Fig. 6, the strap 32 is made wide enough to extendover the ends of the bus bars l4, l5, although it is insulated from thebus bars by the cover plate I l. The strap thus reinforces theinsulating layer to hold the bus bars in place.

After the block has been mounted in the outlet box and wired into thesystem the fixture bracket, lamp or other device is adapted to beconveniently wired to the opposite ends of the bus bars by leading thewires of the bracket or The'edges of the. cover preferably protect thefront edges of the bus bars and hold them in place.

other fixture device into the recess from the front and beneath theclamp plates. 7

By this arrangement, it will be seen that the work of installation andattachment or disconnection of fixtures is facilitated. Thisconstruction also makes it possible to extend wires from the mainterminal plates to the fixtures by simply loosening the screws 20 andattaching additional wires beneath the clamping plates 23. Similarlyadditional branch circuits can be tapped H off by inserting additionalwires beneath the clamping plates 24.

The cover plate II is preferably made wide enough to cover the edges ofthe bus bar ends and may also cover the edges of the clamp plates andany other parts which it is desired to protect.

I claim:

1. An electric Wall fixture support comprising an insulating body, busbars secured to said body on opposite sides thereof, wire connectingmeans in each end of each bus bar, one such means in each bus bar being:exposed at the side and accessible for connection of a circuit wire fromthe rear, at least the front edge of said bus bars adjacent said rearWire connecting means being shielded with insulating material in frontof it, and extending laterally over at least substantial portions ofcircuit wires from the rear, the wire connecting means at the other endof each bus bar being similarly exposed at the side,

bars secured to said body on the opposite sides thereof, wire connectingmeans in each end of each bus bar, a cover plate of insulating materialin front of and holding the bus bars within the insulating body of theplug, at least one wire connecting means in each bus bar being exposedat the side and accessible for connection of a circuit wire from therear, at least the front edge of said bus bars adjacent said rear wireconnecting means being shielded by said cover plate extending laterallyover at least substantial portions of circuit wires from the rear, thewire connecting means at the other end of each bus-bar being similarlyexposed at the side, said cover plate being narrower over the secondmentioned wire connecting means than over the first whereby the secondmentioned wire connecting means are more accessible from the front forView and for connection of a fixture wire from the front than are thefirst mentioned wire connecting means, and a supporting strap securedtothe front of the body between the bus bars, exposed for supporting afixture, and insulated from the bus bars.

3. A substantially flush wall type electric fixture support comprisingan insulating body, bus bars secured to said body on opposite sidesthereof, wire connecting means in each end of each bus bar, at least onesuch means in each bus bar being exposed at the side and accessible forcon nection of a circuit wire from the rear, means extendinglongitudinally of the body and laterally over the edges of the bus barsfor holding them in place, a fixture supporting strap extendinglongitudinally across the front of the insulating body and securedthereto, and means carried by said strap for attachment of a fixturethereto, s'aid strap having integral perforate extension portionsadapted to be secured to an outlet box, whereby the fixture may begrounded to said strap at the front of said insulating body.

FRANCIS J. HINES.

